Road guard



Nov. 29, 1932.

C. V. CLARK, JR

ROAD GUARD Filed Aug. 25. 1932 (24m :5 1 [Z EEK/E INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 29, 1932 j PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES V. CLARK, JR, OF LOUISVILLE, GEORGIA ROAD GUARD Application filed August 25, 1932. SeIiaI No. 630,464.

My invention relates to guards placed alongside roadways to prevent motor or other vehicles from plunging over the side of the roadway and serious injury to the life and limbs of occupants in the car, frequently experienced in accidents of that nature. The Invention has among its objects to provide a strong and durable road-guard comparatively simple in its features and relatively inexpensive in construction and installation, and having elements contributing to efficiency and durability and giving a material degree of protection to elements embodied in the structure. It has also for an object to strengthen the connection between the rail panels and posts with which the panels are connected and by which they are supported and better able to resist the stresses and strains resulting from impact against the impact-receiving rails or panels.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the features hereinafter described and then sought to be clearly defined in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective of two of the impact panels or rails and one of the posts from which they are supported, one of the panels being broken away, the better to illustrate the connection between a. post and panels;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, taken on line 33 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4c is a side elevation of a modified form;

Figure 5 is a top plan of the form illustrated in Figure 4.

In the drawing the letter A designates a post, of which any desired number will be employed, spaced from one another at se lected distances apart, and which may be any form desired, and in anysuitable manner braced for stability at the point selected for erection. Each post will support one end of a rail or panel B formed of sheet metal of suflicient resiliency to bend or yield under the pressure of impact imparted by a travellng motor car or vehicle so as to resiliently retard movement of the vehicle and resume its normal position when force of the impact has been expended. The opposite ends of each rail or panel are bent substantially at right angles to the length of the rail or'panel to form flanges 1 extending in the direction of or towards the supporting posts A and W111 be secured by suitable brackets, which are preferably of U-shape formation, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, or of a T- shape formation, as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. The brackets may be made of steel or other metal of such thickness as to provide suflicient strength to resist and stand-up under the force of blows imparted by impact of a vehicle against the face of the guard rail or panel.

If U-shaped type of brackets C be used, they will be suitably secured to the posts, say by bolts D passed through the neck of the brackets and through the post and held in place by nuts d applied to the threaded ends of the bolts. The flanges at the ends of the rails oi' anels will lie between the oppositely disposed arms a of the brackets C, parallel therewith, and bolts E passed through the bracket arms 0 and end flanges 1 of the rails or panels, and nuts e be screwed up on the bolts so as to exert a drawing pull lengthwise of the panels or rails and take-up slack therein and securely hold them to their'supports.

To better resist the stresses exerted on the panel flanges by impact against the panels, a reinforcing member F, preferably a metal plate, is placed so as to extend lengthwise of and in contact with the flange, and through which pass the bolts which also pass through the flange. This plate is preferably spotwelded to the flange, as indicated by the numerals 2 so that the flanges and plates are made practically one or integral. The edges of the reinforcements F next to the inner faces of the sheet metal panels are rounded or curved as indicated at 7 so that a curved bearing surface for the sheet metal panels is provided at such points and liability of cutting or fracturing the panels at such points 100 is avoided and strength imparted at such oints.

Instead of U-shaped brackets for connecting the rails or panels to the posts, there may be used T-shaped brackets G, illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing. These brackets may be secured to the posts A by bolts H passed through the posts and flanges of the brackets and nuts it applied to threaded ends of the bolts. The panels will be secured to the brackets by bolts J passed through the end flanges of the panels and through reinforcing plates F, and nuts. applied to the threaded ends of the bolts. In this form, channeled washers K are placed between the heads and nuts of the bolts and end flanges of the panels, as illustrated. This gives additional strength and bracing to the connection. The reinforcing plates may be brazed or spot-welded to the flanges as described for the first form. If desired, the end flanges of the panels in both illustrated forms of the invention may be folded around the inner edge of the reinforcing plates and lap onto one face of the plates as illustrated for both forms of the invention and the lapped portions of the flanges may be secured to the plates by spot-welding or otherwise.

It will be observed that when thenuts on the bolts passing through the end flanges of the rails or panels are tightened, the pull on a panel is in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the panel so as to draw on the panel by positive manually operated means in a manner to take-up slack in the panel and by the same means secure the panel in its taut position without exerting and maintaining the panel under longitudinal tension. If there should be some degree of inward deflection of the two arms of each U-shaped bracket, one towards the other, such inward deflection will not exert and maintain each panel under longitudinal tension, because the arms of the bracket at such time do not exert a tension pull on the panels due to resiliency in the bracket arms inasmuch as any tendency in the arms to resume their normal undeflected position due to any resiliency in the arms does not exert a pull on the panel longitudinally of the panel but to the contrary exert its expansive power in a direction that would tend to create some degree of slack in the panel but prevented by the.nut on the bolt resisting movement in that direction, with the result that slack in the panel is taken-up by manipulation of the clamping bolt and nut and the panel held in its taut condition by the bolt and nut.

It will also be observed that one panel is not connected with the alined companion panel so as to exert any pull on that panel due to impact against the face of either panel. Thus each panel acts entirely independently of another panel and stress on one is not trans mitted to the other. By providing the reinforcing plates for the bent ends or flanges of the impact panels, the reinforcing plates receive the stress caused by the impact against the panels so as to prevent damage to the flanges and so as to preserve their strength and durability under prolonged use; and by providing the edges of the reinforcement members with rounded or curved bearing surfaces next to the inner face of the impact panels, said panels are protected or guarded against being cut, severed or damaged under impact against the panels, as no angular edges or corners are present at such bearing points that might cause or tend to cause a sharp bend in the panels next to their flanges when and as the panels are deflected under forcible blows or impacts. The result is that the impact panels are strengthened without detracting from their inherent resiliency.

While the features of the invention illustrated have been described with particularity, it is to be understood that changes in the details may be made and essentials of the invention retained and come within the scope of the invention sought to be defined in the appended claims.

If desired, channel washers such as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing may be applied to the U-shaped form of bracket illustrated, the same as illustrated in F igures 4 and 5, and not needing further illustration.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is:

1. A road-guard comprising a shock absorbing sheet metal panel bent at its end to form a flange extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the panel, a reinforcing member lying substantially parallel with the flange of the panel and permanently secured thereto, a support for the panel, a bracket secured to the support and having a portion extending towards the panel, a bolt passed through the bracket extension, the flange to the panel and the reinforcement, and a nut on the bolt for securing the panel flange and reinforcement to the bracket extension.

2. A road-guard comprising a shock absorbing resilient sheet metal panel having a bend at its end to form a flange extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the panel, a reinforcing member lying substantially parallel with the flange of the panel and having its edge next to the bend in the panel shaped to form a substantially convex caring for the panel at the bend, a support for the panel, a bracket secured to the support, and means for securing the panel flange and reinforcement member to the bracket.

3. A road-guard comprising a plurality of resilient shock absorbing panels, the adjacent ends of the panels being bent to form flanges at the ends extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the panels, reinforcing members placed substantially parallel with the flanges at adjacent ends of the panels and havmg their edges next to the bends in the panels shaped to form substantially convexbearings for the panels at the bends, a

' support for ad'acent ends of the panels, a

' bracket secure to the support, and means for securing the flanges of the anels and the reinforcement members to the racket. 1

4. A road-guard comprising a plurality of resilient shock absorbing panels, the adjacent ends of the panels being bent to form flanges at the ends extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the panels, a support for the panels, a U-shaped bracket secured to the support and having arm extensions lying parallel with each other, reinforcement members lying substantiallyparallel with the end flanges of the panels, the panel flanges and reinforcement members being disposed between the opposite parallel arms of the bracket, a bolt passed through the parallel arms of the bracket, the flanges of both panels, and the reinforcing members, and a nut to the bolt for drawing the plural panels one toward the other for taking up slack in both panels and securing the panels to the arms of the bracket.

5. A road-guard comprising a plurality of resilient shock absorbin panels, the adjacent ends of the panels eing bent to form flanges at the adjacent ends extending at an angle to the longitudinal axes of the panels, reinforcing members lying substantially parallel with the end flanges of the panels, the edges of the reinforcement members next to the bends in the panels being shaped to form substantially convex bearings for the panels at the bends, channel washers applied to one face of each reinforcementmember,

a support for the panels, a bracket secured to said support, a bolt passed through the bracket, the flanges of the panels, the rein forcement members and the channeled washers, and a nut to the boltfor drawing said parts together.

In testimony whereofI aflix my signature.

CHARLES V. CLARK, JR. 

